Yu-Gi-Oh GX: The tournament to end all tournaments
by ajani's apprentice
Summary: Kaiba is hosting a tournament that is invitation based only. Our heroes from Duel Academy our invited and Jaden returns after a year of being out of the duel circuit. JadenxAlexis mainly though their will be some more shipping. Quick shout out to JC-zala for getting me back into Yu-Gi-Oh with her story 'White Vow'. If you like JadenxAlexis shipping then you should read it.
1. Premonitions

Note:** I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh nor do I claim to. All OCs I do own unless they were volunteered by readers.**

On the top floor of a gigantic skyscraper, in a large office sat a man. Not even thirty yet, he was one of the most powerful men in the entire world. The man wore a sleeveless white jacket over a black shirt with a Kc on one of the collars as well as black tight-fitting pants which swept over most of his large black boots. His brown eyes matched the color of his hair. His hair was swept in a neat brunette. The man radiated power. This was not a man you messed with. He sat in a large wheeled-chair, behind a desk of solid wood. He seemed to be waiting for someone.

Sitting in one of the plush chairs on the other side of the desk was a young man around twenty-one years-old. He wore a black jacket over a white shirt, along with a red tie. The cuffs of his jacket were solid silver. He also had tight fitting black pants which went all the way down to his purple loafers which had straps of solid silver as well. He had a good-natured smile as opposed to the other man whose mouth was set in a small line, neither smiling nor frowning. The young man had light steel-blue eyes which matched his hair which, while coming out at odd angles, had a neatness to it as well.

Suddenly the door to the room opened and in walked a man. Just like the first man, the newcomer looked to be almost thirty. He wore a blue jacket over a black sleeveless tee. His black (what else?) tight fitting pants went all the down to dark navy-blue shoes. His eyes were a mix of brown and purple. His hair was even odder. His extremely extravagant hair featured multiple layers including long blond crooked, pointy locks for his fringe; the rest featured a set of five large spikes and two smaller spikes colored black with a magenta sheen along the edges. He wore several pieces of wrist chains. All in all, the group of three were an interesting bunch.

"You're late, Yugi." the man in the large chair, behind the desk, said as the newcomer took a seat. "Sorry, Seto. Téa needed my help with something." Yugi Moto, King of Games, said. Seto Kaiba smiled. "Still going out with her, huh. When are the two of you ever going to get married?" Kaiba said with a small smile. Over the years Kaiba had become much less sullen, though only around those who he knew for a long time. He still had a reputation to uphold. "When we're ready." responded Yugi. Yugi then turned to the young man sitting next to him. "And how have you been, Aaron? Has Kaiba been overworking you?" The young man, Aaron, smiled. "I'm fine, Yugi. And no, Seto hasn't been overworking me." Yugi smiled. "Good. You may be his prodigy but you shouldn't be pushing yourself to much."

Kaiba cleared his throat. "Well, now that we're all here, perhaps we should actually began the discussion." Aaron and Yugi nodded. "Okay, so is everything going well?" Yugi asked. Kaiba nodded. "Everything has been set up. We're all ready to go. My main concern is if this is actually going to do it. I don't want to find myself spending boatloads of cash just to find out that it was all for nought." Aaron raised his eyebrows. "You worry about the expenses? I'm more worried about what will happen if this actually works. We're putting hundreds of people in danger." Yugi frowned. "There's no other way. This is the only viable option. If we don't do this then by the time they choose to reveal themselves we'd be unable to stop them and the whole world could be in jeopardy." Aaron sighed. "I just wish there was another way." "If there was we'd use it." Kaiba told him. "Besides, this could actually be fun." "Yeah, so long as we conveniently forget about the crisis." Aaron said bitterly. "Come now. I've been in situations like this before and I've been able to enjoy myself. Don't let fear dominate your life." said Yugi. Aaron sighed and let out a faint smile. "Fine, I'll try to enjoy myself."

"Remember," Kaiba said. "You won't have to do anything till we tell you. Just be on guard." Aaron nodded. "You'll still need me to do my normal errands, correct?" Aaron knew the answer but he couldn't help but ask. "Yes, I will. I'll try to be less frequent." Kaiba responded. "How can you? You don't control when these things happen?" "That's true but I can send others after them. You deserve a break, Aaron. I'm hoping that, for the most part, this will be your break." Aaron nodded again.

"Another thing that bothers me is the fact that he doesn't even know what is going on and how we're using him. WWhat happens when he finds out?" Kaiba directed this to Yugi. Aaron, however, answered. "Allow me to deal with that. After all, I know how it feels." He said this as a friendly jab but Kaiba still felt guilty. The man who most found to be frightening and emotionless had a soft spot for certain people and he still hurt from having to deceive Aaron for as long as he did. "You don't know him well, though." Yugi pointed out. Aaron smiled. "Before this is done we'll be as close as siblings. I promise you that." Yugi looked at the young man in front of him and saw the determination in his eyes and heard the conviction in those words. "Fine." Yugi said.

"Well is that it?" Aaron said to Kaiba. "That should be all of it. So I think-" Kaiba stopped suddenly. Yugi wondered why until he saw Aaron. On Aaron's right fist appeared a light blue mark. A corresponding mark suddenly blazed up in his left eye. For a minute they all sat in silence. Then the marks vanished and Aaron slumped deeper into the chair. "What happened?" Yugi asked getting up to go help Aaron. "It's fine, Yugi." Kaiba said. Yugi looked at him as if the brunette had taking leave of his senses. It looked like Aaron had just had a seizure and Kaiba was saying it was alright?! "Don't worry." Aaron said. Yugi looked shocked. Aaron voice was perfectly level, not weak and rasping as if he just had a seizure. "I guess we never told you about my special abilities." Aaron said as he sat up straight. "I come from very ancient bloodline, as old as the Pharaohs themselves. Every now and then one of us is born with the ability to have visions. Not of the future but of things going on now.. During these visions we can sense a person's thoughts as well as intentions. Though we are powerless to do anything. It's a mixed blessing." Yugi nodded. "I see." Turning to Kaiba he said "I find it odd you don't seem to argue about whether or not this is real." Kaiba was known for his skepticism with things that seemed to be magic. Kaiba shrugged. "I've changed my mind. I've had time to think and I'm not the same stubborn man you once knew. I've realized that my views can be wrong." From the words it seemed that Kaiba's ego had really been deflated. He then ruined it by adding "Although most of the time I'm right."

He then turned to Aaron and asked "What did you see?" Aaron looked up and said in a solemn tone "I saw a person in a mask and ragged robes winning a duel. A bright light appeared and his foe simply vanished. His foe, however, was no human it seemed to be some duel monster." Kaiba nodded. This was not the first time Aaron had seen duel monsters in his visions before. "The odd thing was, this duel monster seemed to be materialized." Kaiba looked surprised. This was the first time a monster that wasn't a spirit appeared in a vision of Aaron's. "Where?" Yugi asked. This was really interesting. "I believe somewhere in Domino City. The slum areas though." Yugi nodded at Aaron's answer. "In that case I'll be going after whoever this masked duelist is. This is very odd. It's been quite a while since materialized duel monsters have appeared in our world in large metropolitan areas." Yugi got up. "I'll keep you two updated." he said as he walked out. Kaiba nodded. "The event begins in a week. Try to track our mystery person before hand." he said "I'll try, but don't be surprised if I can't." Yugi said. "From our experiences, people like these always seem to appear during large events like the one were holding."

He then left the two by themselves. Kaiba sighed. "What's the problem?" asked Aaron. "Nothing, I'm just remembering the Trueman/Nightshroud incident one year ago. I was one of the few who didn't get taken in to the World of Darkness. Yugi was also one of those few." Kaiba explained. "It's actually unsettling to think that something even more dangerous might be coming." Aaron nodded. "I remember the incident. You warned me not to come back from America because of Trueman." Kaiba nodded and then a small smile appeared on his face. "That's right and if I remember correctly, you did return." "Of course I did. I wasn't about to sit and watch some psychopath take over the world. And I did help." "That is true. You were the one who reminded me and Yugi about what we had lost and because of our passion to avenge them we were able to hold him off until Jaden Yuki put him down permanently." Aaron nodded, remembering the report about the boy. He was really something else.

Note: **Hey guys. Sorry this chapter was short but the main point of this chapter, as well as the next few chapters are intros. You know, to the storyline and characters. The whole story won't be like this thankfully. I just have to get past these intros. Afterwards, we'll be picking up major steam. ****On a side note, school is starting soon. Being in HighSchool is not easy so my uploading schedule will be much more erratic. Finally, I am taking OC requests. Just PM me. Short Description, Appearance and the character's name. I'm using made up cards so sorry if you're not a fan of that type of thing. One last thing. I want to thank JC-zala for getting me interested in Yu-Gi-Oh again. Her story, White Vow, is amazing and you should definitely read it. **


	2. Reunion

Note: **Jason and Asami are two characters from SuperNeos2's "Supreme King Jaden". As such, they belong to him. I do have permission to use them and I hope to keep them in character. If you like my story, heck, even if you don't, you should read his. It's a re-write of the anime and is amazing! Italics means a Duel Monster Spirit is talking. And Aaron is really twenty-one. I'm going to update that. Also, I'm using the basis that Jaden is fifteen when duel academy starts and it's been a year since he graduated. Since Zane is in his third year when Jaden is in his first I'm saying he is twenty-one. Since Atticus is very good friends with Zane, I'm assuming he is as old as Zane and disappeared during his first year in Duel Academy. I may be wrong so don't get mad if I am. And finally, I love reviews. They let me know that people are reading the story and how they feel about it. Just please don't insult me. If you have constructive criticism then I'm happy to see it. **

The clerk for the hotel's lobby looked up as she heard the door open. The day had been slow, with only one person in the lobby at the moment, not including the new arrival, and she was a bit peeved that someone had to come in when she was in the middle of playing WOW (World Of Warcraft). She sighed and plastered on the biggest, and fakiest, smile she could and said, in a voice so sweet it had to be artificial "Yes, how can I help you?"

The newcomer didn't even look up. "Room for one, please." he said.

The clerk nodded her head and turned to the computer. After minimizing the WOW tab, she pulled up the system that was used to check in custormers. "For how long?" she asked, using the same sweet tone.

"One night."

"Under what name?"

"Jacob Yufey."

"Uh-huh." the clerk said. She typed in the name and how long the the man would stay. "Credit-Card?" she asked, holding out her hand to take the card which she was sure would be forthcoming. She was not disappointed. The man took out a credit card and put it in her outstretched hand. She quickly slid it in to the register on the side of the computer and the info was brought up. "Alright, everything's been paid for." she said as she handed him the credit card. "Your room is 3-B. Here's the key." She then gave the man a key to the room. "Cleaning comes at nine so be prepared for them. If you don't leave earlier that is. If you want to extend your stay, just tell me."

Nodding to show he understood, the man walked over to the stairs. The clerk then resumed playing WOW.

Unbeknowest to either of them, the other occupant of the lobby got up and left, but not before picking up his cell-phone to call his employer.

* * *

Meanwhile, the new arrival had gotten into his room. After he slung his backpack down on the bed he then collasped on the bed as well. Suddenly a figure appeared. And what a strange figure it was. The figure was fiendlike and her body was, on the right side, more feminine while on the left side more masculine. Her hair was wild and was colored two different colors, white on the right side, while purple on the left. One eye, the right one, was yellowish-orange while the other was green. She had a third eye, vertically place on her forehead.

_"Jaden,"_ she said. Her voice was critical but, compared to her demon-like appearence, very gentle. _"How many times do I have to tell you that the fake name is way to close to your real one?"_ The question, obviously, was rehtorical.

"Chill out, Yubel." Jaden Yuki, nineteen, said to his card spirit as he sat back up. "It's good enough. Besides, you don't hear Neos or Winged Kuriboh complaining."

"But you do hear me complaining." said a different voice. This one was obviously male, though it echoed as if it was in a cavern. A man's spirit appeared. The man looked to be around mid-forties when his spirit left his body.; He wore a button-down shirt and black dress pants. He had a red tie over the shirt. He had black, wild hair tied in to a pony-tail. His eyes, behind his square-lensed glasses, were squinted so much that they seemed to be closed. He was Professor Lyman Banner, the headmaster of the Slifer Red Dorm back in Jaden's first year at Duel Academy. He was a loyal friend and mentor, though he did hide a few secrets from Jaden before his death, which is its own story. Now, his spirit resided in Pharoh, his cat's, body. They traveled with Jaden ever since left Duel Academy.

"I must agree with Yubel, Jaden." Professor Banner said. "The name Jacob Yufey does seem to be a little to much like your own."

"Guys, it's fine. I've been using this name for a while and nothing has happened. Remember, if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Jaden said, repeating the ever-popular phrase. Yubel huffed and disappeared into Jaden's deck and Professor Banner simply sighed before turning into a sphere of yellow light which floated straight into Pharoh's mouth. Jaden shrugged and went back to lying down on the bed. Suddenly a new spirit appeared. This one was a fluff-ball of hair with green paws and two large round eyes. It had two wings, each having white feathers. This was Winged Kuriboh, a duel monster he had gotten from the King of Games himself, Yugi Moto.

_"Eew" _said the spirit. Kuriboh could not speak in the human language. All it could do was make noises that sounded like a kitten's mewing. However, somehow Jaden always new what it was saying.

"Someone's coming?" Jaden asked. The Duel Spirit nodded. Even if they couldn't see something going on, Duel Spirits always seemed to know what was going on around them. Call it a sixth sense.

Jaden quickly got up just in time to hear a knock on the door. Jaden opened the door to see a bellboy at the door. "I've got a letter for you, sir." The bellboy said as he handed Jaden a envelope. Jaden puuled out a dollar and gave it to him after he took the envelope.

"Here's a tip." Jaden said. He figured it would be nice. The bellboy looked ecstatic. He had almost never gotten tips for measly services like this.

"Thank you sir." he said as he turned and left Jaden. Jaden closed the door and flopped right back down into the bed. He quickly opened the envelope and took out the letter inside. As he scanned the page his eyes widened and when he hit the signature he did a double take. He then noticed two tickets on the floor. He took them and saw that one was for a plane ride to Domino City. The other was for a ship.

"Hey Yubel and Banner," he said, calling out to the spirits. "Looks like I won't be using that name you dislike so much anymore."

* * *

"Yes, I delivered the letter. Now We just have to wait and see." the man from the lobby said. His employer on the other end of the line, smiled.

"Oh he'll come." Seto Kaiba said.

* * *

At the docks in Domino City, a large crowd had gathered. Actually, large was an understatement. Over five hundred people, ranging from teens to adults, were gathered there. Alexis Rhodes, nineteen year-old Queen of Obelisk Blue, was looking for a specific someone and in the mass of people she had been having a hard time. She didn't expect to find him anyways. But Alexis could hope and that was what she was doing.

"Alexis!" she heard a voice call out. Alexis turned to see her older brother Atticus running to catch up with her. Her older brother was two years older then her but he always acted as the younger of the two in her opinion. "Can't you wait up? It's getting hard to keep up with you. And why are you so excited anyway?"

Alexis sighed. "Quit complaining, Atticus." she said. "No I can't wait up. I'm to excited." Atticus realized she was ignoring the second question. That meant that the answer was probably something embarrassing. He mentally made a note to find out what it was so he could tease her about it. Atticus loved teasing his sister even if he would regret it afterwards.

"Fine." Atticus said. Suddenly the two siblings heard a voice call out. "HEY! Alexis, Atticus!" Turning, the two siblings saw a group of five people. They smiled as they recognized the people in the group.

"Syrus, Zane, Hassleberry, Chazz, Aster, get over here!" Atticus said. The group of five, who, like Alexis and Atticus, were wearing their Academy clothes, came to them. Atticus noticed that Alexis, while happy to see their friends, was still looking around.

"How are yah two soldiers?" Tyranno Hassleberry asked. Hassleberry was a beefy nineteen year-old who graduated Duel Academy as a Ra Yellow. He loved using military jargon which is why he called everyone soldier.

"We're fine." Alexis said.

"Glad to hear that." said Aster Phoenix. Aster was a Pro League Duelist who had an impressive track record. He became friends with Jaden and the rest during their second year at Duel Academy when he found out his sponsor, Sartorius, was using him.

"How've you been Zane?" asked Alexis, concern showing in her voice. To her, the older Truesdale was like another older brother, albeit this one was much more reserved and serious then her real one. Her concern came from the fact that Zane had a very bad heart condition, due to his using the Underworld Deck, a powerful deck that takes a toll on its user. He had to be extremely careful not to overexert himself. She knew that his brother Syrus was making sure he didn't do anything to risky but she still felt compelled to ask.

"I've been doing a lot better, Lex." Zane answered, using the nickname he liked calling her. "Syrus has been making sure I've been alright and my heart's condition has improved. While it's unlikely it will ever fully recover, as long as I'm easy on it my heart should become stronger." Alexis breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey, have you two seen Jay?" Syrus asked. Both Alexis and Atticus shook their heads. Atticus saw that Alexis looked much more somber then before. "Nuts. We haven't seen him either." Syrus said. Alexis looked visibly troubled.

"We haven't heard or seen him since he left." She explained. Zane nodded.

"Same with us." He said.

"Eh, you guys worry too much about the Slacker." Chazz Princeton said. Chazz was a major rival to Jaden. While he didn't like to admit it, he did like Jaden, though he would never admit it. "Jaden's strong. I'm sure he's fine. Besides, I find it hard to believe the Slacker would come to Duel College."

The reason everyone was here was that they were all going to Duel College. Like Duel Academy, Duel College was owned by Seto Kaiba and was only for the best. It also had a lot of work, as a college should, and it would be hard to imagine Jaden going to someplace like that.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Syrus said. "It's hard to imagine Jaden in college."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm coming so you won't have to imagine it!" said an all too familiar voice. The group turned around (there is a lot of turning in this story apparently) to see none other then Jaden Yuki walking towards them.

"Jaden!" They all yelled as they rushed towards him. Syrus quickly wrapped Jaden in a hug.

"Whoa, easy there Sy." Jaden said.

"Sorry," Syrus said. "It's just, I've missed you so much."

"Yeah I missed you guys to." Jaden said. Then, taking a better look at Syrus he said "Have you gotten taller Sy?"

"Yep! A whole two inches!" the younger Truesdale said causing Jaden to fall down anime style.

"It's good to see you again." Zane said.

"Yeah Sarge, we were all worried about you after you went MIA." Hassleberry said.

"Well, as you can see, I'm fine." Jaden said. He wasn't surprised that his friends were worried. He knew that they would be and that was one of the few reasons he regretted going on his personal journey. However, he felt he needed time to figure out what he wanted to do with his life as well as get used to being alone. Well, almost alone.

"I'm surprised you're here Jaden. After all, it just doesn't seem like you to go to college." Atticus teased.

"Well, under normal circumstances I wouldn't be here but I couldn't refuse Mr. Hotshot-CEO-of-KaibaCorp himself." Jaden said with a smirk. He was certain there would be an entertaining reaction to this. He wasn't disappointed.

"Wait! You're saying-" Syrus began.

"That the CEO of KaibaCorp, Seto Kaiba,-" Chazz continued.

"Actually INVITED you to go to Duel College?!" Aster finished.

Jaden nodded. "Yep, I got a letter from him with the request as well as tickets to get here." he explained. He didn't mention that he had been actually running around under an assumed name half-way across the world, virtually untraceable, at the time he got the letter. That still freaked him out. Seto Kaiba was powerful indeed to pull that off.

"It's great to have you back, Jaden." Alexis said. "I'm glad we're going to college together."

Understanding hit Atticus like punch to the gut. He just realized why Alexis was so excited. She had been looking for Jaden. And, the emotion in her voice when she said that she was happy to go to college with him meant only one thing. Atticus smiled. This was perfect. His sis had a crush and he knew! Oh the possibilities of what he could do. Suddenly he felt Zane tap his shoulder.

"Don't Atticus. Just don't." Zane said in an almost pleading voice. Atticus looked surprised. So Zane realized as well. Well that was interesting. It was also interesting to know that he wasn't upset. Or at least he didn't seem to be annoyed. He'd have to talk to him about it later.

"I'm glad I'll be going to college with you to. All of you. I can't imagine what I'd do without all my friends." Jaden said. Alexis smiled outwardly but inside she felt disappointed. He said friends. And while it was nice to be friends, she couldn't help but feel that she wanted to be something more. But it would never happen. This was Jaden Yuki she was thinking about.

"You'd probably flunk all the classes." Syrus said with a smile.

Jaden rubbed the back of his head. "You're probably right Sy." Jaden said.

"Jaden?! It is you!" a voiced exclaimed.

The group turned around (What is it with me and making people turn? Soon enough someone's body is going to snap from the strain.) and saw two people walking towards them. One was a boy. He had dark brown hair that ran down to the base of his neck. The hair on the left side was tucked neatly behind his ear allowing his brown eye to see unobscured, while the hair on the right side was left dangling above his bandaged part of his face. He wore a blue jeans and a white shirt under a sky-blue jacket. A light blue cap sat on top of his other was a girl. She wore a blue and white blazer, and a white mini-skirt that was rimmed with blue. She had shoulder length pink hair and green eyes.

"JASON!" Jaden said. Jason and the girl reached the group. Jaden clasped Jason's arm and pumped his hand up and down.

Alexis stared at the other girl. "Asami?" Alexis asked.

The other girl smiled. "Alexis! It is you!" Asami said as she hugged Alexis. "It's been too long!"

"I agree." Alexis said.

"Can someone explain what's going on? 'Cause I'm certainly lost." Syrus said as Chazz, Aster, and Hassleberry nodded. Only Atticus and Zane seemed to follow the exchange between the two girls, although nobody could understand why Jaden was so excited over seeing this Jason fellow.

"The name's Jason Yuki and this is Asami Elric." He said so as to help everyone who was confused out. "Asami, we should bring them to the café to see **H****ER**."

"Sure!" Asami said as Alexis and her stopped hugging. "We were actually going to invite you to sit with us at that café over there." the girl explained. "We have a friend waiting to see some of you. She's the one who told us you were here."

"WAIT! You guys are related?!" Atticus asked.

"Yeah." the two Yuki's said at once.

While everyone else stared in shock, Chazz muttered "Great, like one wasn't enough to deal with." Luckily, neither Jaden nor Jason heard him though Zane did and Chazz immediately felt Zane's elbow connect with his stomach making him gasp for breath.

Asami then led the group to the Café. Sitting by one of the outdoor tables was a young woman about twenty-one years-old. She had long blonde hair, so long that it reached her knees and the curled in on itself. She wore heels, pants, a tight v-neck shirt, and a jacket that reached down to her knees as well, along with wrist-warmers as well as a neck scarf. All of this was black, the jacket being darker then the pants, heels and shirt, and the wrist-warmers and scarf being the darkest out of all. In addition, a grey tear-drop shaped jewel hung on a clasp, used to keep the jacket together, over her sternum. She had a small smile and her grey eyes twinkled in excitement.

"Cynthia!" Jason said and the woman (take a guess) turned around to see the group. Her smile widened.

"It's been a while, Alexis, Zane, Atticus." she said.

Alexis gasped and then ran forward and hugged the woman. "Cyndi!" she said. "I can't believe that your here!"

"Who-" Jaden was about to ask but stopped as Zane raised his hand.

"This is Cynthia McAuora an old friend from Duel Prep School." Zane explained. "Duel Prep is actually the reason I know Alexis, Atticus and Asami. Atticus, Cynthia and I were all in the same year. Two years after our first year, Asami and Alexis came. After we finished, Atticus and I went to our Duel Academy, while Cynthia went to a different located in Panorama City." Panorama City, so named because of its famous Panorama Walkway, was a few hours north of Domino City.

"Wait, McAuora, as in the lead designer for KaibaCorp's Duel-Disks McAuora?!" Chazz asked awestruck.

"Yes. My father is the lead designer for KaibaCorp's Duel-Disk division. In fact he was able to make me a custom one." Cynthia said.

"By the way, whatever happened to Aaron?" Atticus asked Cynthia. "After all he did go to the same Duel Academy as you."

"Aaron's actually went to America for a while. I don't know why though." Cynthia said with mischievous gleam in her eye. No one, save Zane and Aster and Atticus, relized it though.

"Who's Aaron?" asked Syrus.

"Aaron is another one of our friends from Duel Prep." Atticus said. "He was in the same year as Zane, Cynthia, and myself."

"Okay, I get how you know these three new recruits," Hassleberry said to Zane and the Rhodes and Jaden, motioning to Jason, Cynthia and Asami when he said 'new recruits'. The term made Asami raise an eyebrow but Cynthia simply chuckled at the it. "But why have we never heard from or about you Jason? And what's with the bandages? Old battle wound?" Hassleberry asked. At the mention of the bandages Jason looked down. Asami put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed which made Jason seem a little bit more at ease. Hassleberry saw the reaction to his question and said "Sorry if it's a sore subject soldier. Just askin' out of concern. If you don't want to talk about it you don't have to."

Jason gave a small sad smile. "I understand. Don't worry, I'm not upset. The bandages are a sore subject indeed." the teen said. "Jaden and Asami know, as well as Cynthia, but I rather not go into it right now."

"Concerning your other question, Jaden and I were very close as young kids. In fact, some people wondered if we were twins since we always hung out together. We probably would have continued to be close friends throughout the rest of our school-years but something came up and I had to move. We lost touch after that which probably is why Jaden never told you about me." Jason explained. "I know Asami since we were in the same year at Duel Academy. That's also how I know Cynthia."

"Okay, nice to have everything settled out." Chazz said. "Next time though, someone should hand out a memo."

By then a waiter had come and the group ordered some food. They then spent the next half hour or so just takling amongst themselves, catching up on old times. After they were done eating they split the bill and got up to leave.

"Well, it's almost two. We'll be leaving soon." Cynthia pointed out.

"Yeah, that was one of the things I was wondering about. How are we getting to New York? It can't be by boat, can it?" Syrus asked. The college was locted in New York City. No one was told how the'd be getting there. All they knew was that they would be picked up by the docks.

"There's know way they be using a boat, slacker. It would take days, possibly weeks." Chazz said.

"Then how do you suppose we'll get there?" Jaden asked.

"By plane." Cynthia answered.

"How do you-" Syrus began to ask but was interupted by a low hum. The hum began to become louder and, at the sounds climax, a group of five planes suddenly appeared, coming from the mainland. They smoothly touched down and floated on the water. Then the boarding doars opened up and ramps slid out on to the docks. Flight Attendants walked down the ramps and began calling out names. Almost immediately, the group heard their names.

"Hey, it seems like we're all on the same plane!" Jason said with obvious excitement.

"Well then, let's move out soldiers!" Hassleberry shouted and he then ran forward leaving the rest of the group to try and catch up.

* * *

Meanwhile a jet was traveling over the Atlantic Ocean. The jet was like no other jet as it was in the shape of a Blue-Eyes-White-Dragon. On board was the CEO of KaibaCorp himself, Seto Kaiba, as well as his prodigy.

"You alright Aaron?" Kiaba asked.

Aaron gave a small smile. "I'm fine, Seto. Maybe a little nervous, but fine none the less." the young man responded.

"Nervousness is a good thing when there's a reason for it. It shows that you're not overconfident. However, you really don't have to be nervous. This isn't your first time making a public appearance." Kaiba told Aaron.

"True, but this is different. I'm going to be seeing people I haven't spoken to in years. People who I was close to. I guess I'm just worried about what they'll think of me."

Kaiba looked at the young man in front of him. He couldn't help but see himself in him, as the two of them had many similarities. They were both powerful people in the business world, though Aaron was powerful only because of who he was related to. They both were powerful duelists as well as talented chess players. There was one other similarity, one that was larger then all the others and that actually had been the whole reason the two had forged the relationship that they had. They were both orphans.

"Why don't we have a duel? It will take your mind off the nervousness." Kaiba said.

Aaron thought about it. He knew that dueling would only be a temporary distraction and the nervousness would continue to plague him when they were done. However, Aaron knew that he wouldn't get over the nervousness by the time that he and Kaiba got to their destination.

"Alright, but let's have a game of chess afterwards." Aaron said.

Note: **Originally this chapter and the next were to be in the same chapter. However, due to time constraints I have decided to split them up. Hopefully the next chapter will finish the intros and we'll soon have some dueling action. Until then, May the cards ever be in your favor. -AA **


	3. College

Note: **Due to the fact that I have absolutely no idea what time zone Domino City is supposed to be in, I'm saying that the difference between New York and Domino City's time zones is the same as New York's and Tokyo's or thirteen hours. For the same reason, the flight time will also be that of the flight time between New York and Tokyo or around twelve hours. ****Italics means a Duel Monster Spirit is talking. And those things in the Bold parentheses are notes. I didn't want to break the paragraph up or wait till the end of the paragraph. Also, I changed my story so that Jason is really Jaden's cousin. There is a small revision to chapter two because of that but nothing to horrible. If you don't want to read it over then you don't really have to as I just changed the dialogue around a bit. **

It was almost midnight when Yugi Moto walked in to the 'Duel and Drink' bar, in the more hostile part of Domino City's downtown district. **(Why is it ALWAYS downtown?) **The king of games stepped in with the an air of confidence that was only shown by those who were either regulars or overly-confident customers. Most of the people there recognized him instantly as he was a regular to the bar. A few didn't, as they were newcomers but none felt like they had any reason to pay the seemingly scrawny man any mind. That was until Yugi sat down by the front and the bartender, instantly recognizing him, didn't refill one of the customer's drinks which he was about to do and instead started to pour Yugi his 'regular'. The customer whose refill was interrupted didn't take to kindly to the interruption and decided to give Yugi a piece of his mind.

"Hey, buddy," the man, a large bald red-neck with tattoos over his arms and neck. **(I apologize for any stereotyping.)** "Why don't you wait in line like the rest of us?" he asked with anger obvious in his tone. When Yugi ignored him he stood up, the motion sending his chair to the ground. "I asked you a question, punk!" he said his face growing red in anger. When he was ignored once more he shouted "That's it!" and raised his hand, curling it into a fist as he did so. Any one of the regulars could have easily told him that he was about to make a huge mistake, but these were the types of men that couldn't care less. Besides, they were bored and were itching to see some action liven things up.

As the patron through his punch, Yugi ducked his head and slid off his barstool as quick as a snake lunging at its prey. As the attacker felt his punch go through air, he also felt searing pain come from his shin, which Yugi had kicked. Instinctively he lowered himself to grasp at it and left his back open. Yugi took full advantage of that and sent his right hand down in a hammer-fist onto the man's back, sending shocks of pain through the man's spine and down through his back.

"I could've easily paralyzed you, if I had smashed my heel or elbow into your spine just now. As is, you'll probably find it hard to move for the next few days. You might want to see a doctor if the pain doesn't go away after a week or two." said Yugi. "That said I highly doubt you'll want to continue this fight as it wouldn't be in your best interests to do so. I know I wouldn't."

The man slowly got up and simply sat back down, albeit farther from Yugi, without a word. "Wise choice." Yugi said simply, ending it at that. The bar, which had gone silent during the past minute, went back to its low murmuring though the newer patrons' tones now held a bit more respect in them regarding Yugi. The tones of the 'veterans' were unchanged as they already known good and well about Yugi. The bartender, who hadn't stopped working throughout the short scuffle, now handed the completed Yugi his drink.

"Thanks Gerald." Yugi said. He took a sip of the beverage. Gerald gave him a queer look.

"Still not having any alcohol?" he asked.

Yugi shrugged. "Why should I? It won't help me considering the reason I come down here is to get information. Having alcohol would just loosen my lips, not my informant's."

Understanding the hint Gerald pulled over the seat behind the counter and looked at Yugi. "Alright then, I hear what you're trying to tell me. Let's get straight down to business. Who do you want the dirt on, eh?" the bartender asked.

"A man who goes by the name of The Shadowdelver." Yugi responded.

Gerald let out a low whistle. "You have a knack of always asking for the deadly ones, don't you Moto?" Gerald asked.

"What use would it be to ask for the nice ones?" Yugi shot back. "Besides, I highly doubt that this is a place I'd go to find info on good, law-abiding citizens. There are much less dangerous places to go to if I want to find out about those types."

"Touché." Gerald admitted. "Now about this guy. You sure you want to know Moto? This fella makes the guys you've asked about before seem like angels."

"Yes." Yugi said. He had spent much time trying to dig up a name for the man Aaron had saw in his vision. It had not been easy but he finally did it. There was no way he'd back out now.

Gerald sighed. "Alright." he said. "First thing you gotta know is this. The man is very different from the guys you've faced before. Those blokes always went after duelists for a reason, whether it be for money, fame, revenge or whatever purpose they had. This guy however has no known motive. He just goes after people and there is no rhyme or reason to his targets. Young, old, amateur, experienced. It makes no difference to him.

"Second, while the other guys always left their victims, whether dead or alive, this guy leaves nothing of them. No body, no clothing, no jewelry, nothing. Which is odd considering the fact that he leaves a card bearing his name and 'logo', a 'S' made up of purple smoke with a black, diagonal slash going from the top right corner to the bottom left one, at the scene of the crime. For someone who painfully makes sure not to leave a trace of a victim, he seems not to mind leaving a little 'signature' behind.

"Finally, and this is perhaps the oddest part, unlike the other guys who only use dueling as a way to kill time or to distract their targets, this guy seems to actually do his dirty work by dueling."

As he had been saying this over, Gerald had poured himself a drink to relive the stress. None of the other patrons had interrupted. While none knew what was being said, the regulars knew that anything they would've asked for would, at best, been ignored while at worst been refused in a very rough way. The newcomers simply didn't want to risk having an encounter with Yugi like their fellow bargoer had earlier.

Yugi pulled out a fifty (or the equivalent of a fifty in yen, or whatever Japanese currency is called) and handed it over to Gerald. Normally the pay was somewhere between twenty and thirty-five depending on the info but Yugi knew how much the man was risking by telling him this.

"Thanks Gerald." Yugi said as he got up, place his pay for the drink down, and left.

Gerald watched him go and muttered "Good luck Moto." to one of his favorite patrons.

* * *

"We'll be arriving in JFK International Airport shortly. Please return your seats to their upright fashion, return your tray-tables to their closed position, and fasten your seat-belts as we will begin the landing sequence shortly." the voice of one of the flight attendants was heard over the speakers. Everyone quickly complied and the sound of seats being returned to their normal position was heard.

"Finally." muttered Chazz, commenting on the fact that Jaden had had his seat leaning back the entire flight.

As the group exited the plane and went to the baggage claim they were handed out tickets telling them where to wait for their ride. The group went to the designated area and put down their bags. Luckily for them, there was no rain as it easily could have made the wait unbearable. There was, however, a powerful wind gusting through and it sent chills down the group's spines. The group heard a yelp and turned (yep, I haven't stopped with the turning) to see a group of three walking towards them.

"Hey, looks like Duel Academy's finest decided to show!" was the warm greeting that came from a certain blue-haired teen.

"It's about time. I thought we'd have to go looking for you." said the young man next to him.

"Jesse, Jim, Axl it's great to see you!" Jaden said. Jesse Anderson, Jim 'Crocodile' Cook and Axl Brodie were three duelists who had become good friends with Jaden and the rest during their third year at Duel Academy. "You guys are also going to Duel College?"

"No, Slacker, there here to tour New York. Of course they're going to the College! Why else would they be here?!" Chazz said.

"Maybe to actually tour?" Syrus suggested.

"Yeah, that was your original suggestion wasn't soldier?" Hassleberry asked Chazz.

"It was SARCASM you fossil-brain!" Chazz shouted at Hassleberry.

"You know I was going to ask how y'all were doing but it looks like nothing has changed." Jesse said with a laugh.

"Same with you." Jaden responded. "How did you know we'd be here by the way?"

"Atticus told us." Axl said.

"Why am I not surprised?" Alexis asked.

"Hey got to keep your friends close little sis!" Atticus said with a cheery smile on his face.

"Yeah and your enemies closer." Alexis said finishing the saying as she grabbed her brother's ear and pulled it towards her. "You could've told us you know."

"And ruin the surprise?" Atticus said in his cheerful voice, even though his ear was being twisted.

After introducing Jesse, Jim, and Axl to Jason, Asami and Cynthia ("I can see the family resemblance." said Jesse) the taxis arrived. Although taxis wasn't the best descriptive term. Stretch-Hummers was a better description.

"Wow! This is fancy! First exclusive jets then stretch-hummers, what's next a personal buffet?" Jaden asked.

"Why was I expecting something like that?" asked Zane, though the question was asked in a humorous tone.

* * *

The drive was a little over an hour, because of traffic. Eventually they got to another set of docks which held a few transfer ferries. After another hour on the boat everyone finally saw the college campus. And what a campus! The college was situated on an island around the same size as the Island that housed Duel Academy. While the first few miles in were open to the public the center of the island was devoted entirely to the college. Kaiba had it this isolated for a purpose. This way the students could focus and the outside world couldn't rear its ugly head in to their lives. Some called him paranoid but he was simply being cognizant of what the students would want. Of course he didn't say so. He was alright with people saying he was paranoid. It would be a deterrent from fooling around with him and he did have a reputation to uphold.

The first part of the college that the group actually saw were the dorms. "Woah." Axl said. No one else said anything as their breath had been taken away by the splendor of the dorms. Against them, the Obelisk Blue Dorms seemed to be shabby roadside inns. Aster was the only one who wasn't impressed. While some of the others, like Chazz and the Rhodes, were rich as well, Aster had had access to some of the grandest hotels in the world thanks to his career as a Pro Duelist.

"Eh, not too shabby." he said while flicked his hair. "I've seen better hotels though."

"I'm sure you have." said a voice behind the group. Everyone turned (will the turning never end?!) to see a young woman walking up to them. "Of course, as a school we don't exactly feel the need to make sure that our rooms will fit every type of person who passes by. We don't make money by renting out rooms for people to sleep in." the woman continued. The woman had short red hair with bangs. her blue eyes held patience but also showed that she wasn't going to let anything and everything go by her. Her arms hung by her side and the sunlight shone off of her manicured nails. She wore a red skirt that stopped right past the knees. Her shirt was light pink and spotless. Over it she wore a wooly grey vest.

"And you are?" Zane asked.

"Adriana Carter. To you though, simply Ms. Carter since I am one of your teachers." Ms. Carter responded.

"Wait. You're a teacher, how old are you?" Alexis asked. She was one of the three people in the group who could get away with asking that. The other two were, coincidently, also of the female gender.

"I'm thirty. And if you think that's a little young I'll let you know that I'm simply one of the coaches. I coach football and basketball." Ms. Carter said.

"Uh, by football do you mean what us Americans call football or what we call soccer?" Jesse asked reasonably.

**(First, how many of you knew Jesse was American? Probably all of you. I recently found out he was from the United States. That was embarrassing. Second, he's asking probably what most of you are asking. This is my way of stopping the comment section from being flooded with this question before it happens.)**

"I mean what us Americans call football. And don't looked so shocked! I may be a woman but I know a lot about the game! My uncle is a football player and I've learned a lot from him. I know more about it then most men do!" Ms. Carter said with a laugh.

"Well then, it was nice to meet you Ms. Carter. We still need to unpack so sorry we can't talk for much longer." Asami said politely.

"No problem, I understand. Just one last thing. The reason I actually stopped by was that I was walking by and thought I'd tell you that the annual welcome dinner starts at six-thirty. There will be a short speech before hand though so you should come by the auditorium at around six-fifteen. Don't be late!" And with that last notice Ms. Carter walked off.

"Why must there be a speech before we eat? I don't like working for my food." Jaden complained. Jason shook his head.

"You really haven't changed." he muttered.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Kaiba asked Aaron. Aaron didn't turn around (thank you!) as he could see Kaiba from the mirror he was using to straighten his tie.

"Pretty much." the young man responded. "I'm still a bit nervous but the feeling isn't as strong as before, thankfully."

"Good to hear. Wouldn't want you freaking out in front of everyone."

"I'm just really glad I won't have to make any speeches."

"There easy after a while. Although, that isn't something I can tell you from personal experience as I was always good at public speaking."

Aaron turned when he heard that. "You know, you don't give that impression. You always like to keep things short. Especially when you're talking to a small group." the young man said with a smirk on his face. Kaiba smirked right back.

"They say brevity is the soul of wit. I believe it extends much farther then simply wit's soul." Kaiba responded. "And if you're implying I'm antisocial then let ne tell you, I'm not. I just don't waste my time with those who don't deserve it."

"You're as haughty as ever." Aaron said.

"I used to be haughty. You, of all people, know that I'm not anymore. Now I only appear haughty. And if that is the price for practicality then I will happily pay it."

After a moment Kaiba continued and said. "I'm surprised you afraid of speaking. You've always appeared to be a very outgoing talkative person. You don't seem to be afraid of crowds or strangers either."

Aaron's smirk, which had disappeared when he mentioned Kaiba being haughty, returned. "I never said I was. I just said I'm glad I'm not. I wouldn't want to have to think up a speech that addresses everything that needs to be addressed and is short enough that college students will listen to it." Aaron said as he walked out of the room his room in his private suite in the college. Kaiba, however, waited a moment, thinking about his student's sarcastic comment. Then he shrugged.

"I've taught him well." Kaiba said. "Perhaps a little too well."

* * *

The auditorium was packed. Thankfully it was designed in such a way that sound carried. In fact, there wasn't even a mike, the design worked so well that a supplement wasn't needed.

The group got seats near the back, meeting with Jasmine and Mindy. Jasmine and Mindy had already come to the college a few days before everyone else. They had a few friends who invited them and Alexis. Alexis had declined, hoping to see Jaden. As they settled down, a low hush went through the auditorium as a older man took to the podium. He wore a slender gold-colored coat with a silver trim. His white shirt was so clean it seemed to sparkle and his black dress-pants were, while a little loose in the legs, were a great addition to the formal look he had to him. He wore black dress-shoes which completed the serious look. However, his face shone with mirth and his green eyes sparkled with delight. His neatly trimmed goatee was grey and the lines on his forehead and around his goatee showed his advanced age. However, he seemed to radiate with boundless energy.

"Welcome, students!" his deep voice boomed. "It is a pleasure to have you here! My name is Professor Leonard Jomare and I am the Headmaster of Duel College. I am looking forward to a great year with all of you." He paused for a moment to let his gaze sweep through the auditorium and see all the assembled students. Then he continued. "For those of you who have been here before, you're probably wondering why we're having a speech before dinner as I usually let you satisfy your appetites before making yourselves have to listen through a boring speech about rules said by an old man such as myself."

At that Jaden muttered "Some of us newcomers are also wondering that." Alexis jabbed her elbow into his ribs to get him to be quiet though inwardly she smiled at Jaden. That type of thing was typical to hear from him. He didn't mean to be disrespectful which is why she liked him. His innocence was refreshing.

"Well to answer all of you, there are a few very important topics that must be discussed before we can get to eating. Yes believe it or not there are more important things then food." Professor Jomare paused to let the students laugh, which many did indeed do.

Jaden grumbled something "There is nothing more important."

"Not even dueling?" Aster asked.

"Okay maybe that." Jaden admitted.

"Yep. Thought so." Aster said with a small smirk.

"He really hasn't changed." Jason once again muttered.

"The first important topic is that there are a few new courses, as well as some of our old courses, over the internet. We will be giving out a list on the courses at the end of the school day tomorrow. If you are planning on entering any of them, please hand in the completed forms that will be attached to the lists by the Monday two weeks from now. The courses will be starting at the beginning of the next month and we will need to know how many students will be taking them.

"On a different note, I'm happy to announce that we have two new additions to the staff. The first is Ms. Adriana Carter, who will be taking over for Alfred Camberlaike as our new coach for our basketball and football teams. Alfred has gone on to become a coach in the pro-leagues. Our second addition is Mr. Kristoph Kramer who is taking over as our new teacher for one our most favorite classes, the Duel College exclusive Duel Strategies and Practice. Our previous instructor, Phil Locmore, is now in the pro circuit as most of you already know as he has become quite successful even though he has only been in the circuit for a few months."

An applause was heard from the crowd as the two new additions to the staff stood up. While Ms. Carter actually waved enthusiastically to the clapping, Mr. Kramer simply nodded his head to the clapping as he raised his hand in a salute. Mr. Kramer was actually a pretty handsome man and his laid back manner just made him even more attractive. He had blue eyes that were covered in glasses and sparkled in excitement. His mouth was turned up in a friendly smile. His hair, platinum-blond in color, was neatly combed and came down in a pointy twist on the left side of his face. He wore a blue jacket with matching pants over a black vest which covered a white button down shirt. His loafers were white with a blinding sheen. All in all, he had the look of a well put gentleman.

"Oh my god, he's so dreamy!" Jasmine swooned.

"How old do you think he is?" Mindy asked.

Alexis sighed and rolled her eyes. This was typical behavior from those two, falling in love with a guy as soon as they saw him.

"He's thirty-two." Cynthia said.

"How do you know?" asked Axl. "If he's really new then who could have given you the information?"

"Simple. I know someone who's in the know with these things. He tells me all this stuff. Besides. most of this stuff I figure out on my own considering my close relationship to Seto Kaiba." Cynthia reminded them.

"See you two. He's already over ten years older then you! Get over yourselves." Alexis said.

"But he's super cute! And he doesn't look younger then twenty-one!" Jasmine argured with a dreamy look on her face.

"Yeah, you sure you aren't wrong?" Mindy asked.

"I'm not wrong." Cynthia said in a voice of absolute certainty.

"This is getting old." Chazz muttered.

"WHAT?!" Jasmine and Mindy yelled giving him looks that shot daggers.

"Nothing." Chazz murmured meekly. Atticus, Aster, Jim, Hassleberry, Jesse, Syrus and Jaden all snorted in laughter. Jason, Alexis and Asami chuckled and even Zane cracked a small smile along with Cynthia. Axl simply rolled his eyes.

"In all seriousness though, you two are the only ones reacting like this." Zane said as smile disappeared. However he wasn't accurate. Many other girls were chattering in admiration as well.

"Now there is one more announcement to be made. However I won't be the one giving it." said Professor Jomare.

Before anyone could start asking their neighbors if they knew what was going on a voice was heard. "I will be." said Seto Kaiba as he walked up the stairs to the podium. No one had seen him enter as their focus had been on the two new members of the staff. Kaiba had walked in during that time. Kaiba smiled inwardly. Drawing attention was a talent of his. He engineered the entire thing so that the audience's attention was on him.

"Thank you Leonard, I'll take over now." Professor Jomare stepped back and let Kaiba stand in front of the podium. He then turned to the assembled group of students in the stands. "I'm going to keep this short as I'm not the type to lengthen things out unnecessarily. I've decided, in honor of Duel College's tenth anniversary, to host a dueling tournament."

Immediately there was a buzz of commotion at this announcement. However, it quickly subsided when Kaiba raised his hand into the air, signaling he wanted silence.

"The tournament will be taking place on this island and will feature the greatest duelists out there. It will be invitation based only so no one who I don't approve of won't be able to get in. Obviously all of you are invited to participate. While it won't be an excuse to not have class, it will be worth credit. Also, all of the main Duel Academies will be coming after Winter Break in order that they'll be on the scene to participate. And yes, you heard correctly!" he added in a shout as a large commotion broke out. Instantly there was silence. "Duel Academy students will be taking part. They are all competent duelists and I believe they deserve the right to show their worth to world as well! The tournament will be covered by many news and TV networks so I hope you don't embarrass yourselves." Kaiba couldn't help but add.

"In addition, there is a student that will be helping supervise the school. Yes, a student will in fact hold an amount of power. In fact, in certain cases his authority will be second only to mine and the Headmaster's. Why, perhaps you're wondering, would a student get so much power? Because he answers directly to me. He is my prodigy and, while it will be his first year in the college, he's proven his worth and, for lack of a better word, loyalty to me. Some may say he's my lapdog. You're wrong. He is his own person. And if I hear from anyone that someone is undermining his authority then that person's punishment will be as harsh as it would be if he undermined my authority."

With that the gravity of the situation seemed to set in. However there were still a few in the crowd who seemed to be upset that a student would hold so much power. Kaiba ignored it.

"While he holds so much power, that doesn't mean you must treat him differently. You can address him by name and can always challenge him to a duel. Though you may want to keep in mind he is my prodigy for a reason." Kaiba added with a smirk. "However, now I believe it's time I introduce him. My prodigy, Aaron McKlellan!"

With that Aaron stepped forward. There was a collective gasp as many of the students recognized him, as he was very famous in the pro-circuit in America. When they saw him, Jason, Asami, Zane, Aster, Atticus and Alexis all immediately had a sharp intake of breath as they recognized Aaron. Cynthia chuckled at their reaction and Atticus turned to her with an annoyed look on his face.

"You liar!" he said. "You knew all along what was going on with him, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did." Cynthia admitted. "But Aaron wanted it to be a secret." Turning to Aster she said "I'm curious as to how you know him."

"I went up against him before in the American Pro-Circuit." Aster responded.

"Uh, can someone fill us in on who this guy is? Please." Syrus said.

"Certainly." Zane said. "Remember how Atticus mentioned a friend of ours earlier named Aaron?"

Syrus nodded. Then his eyes widened. "Don't tell me-" he began to say but Chazz finished for him.

"That's the same guy?!" Chazz yelled.

"Yes, he is. Aaron McKlellan is our old childhood friend." Asami said. "Jason met him when we went to the same Duel Academy as him. The two of us haven't heard from him ever since he left, though." She then turned to Cynthia. "The two of you have been in touch though it would seem."

"Yes we have." Cynthia said. "I wish I could have told you guys but, as I've already said, he wanted me to keep it a secret."

"Well at least we know now." Alexis said. "I've missed him though."

"We all have." Zane said simply.

Kaiba, once again, raised his hand and the room went quite. "Now, even though all the announcements have been completed I still have yet to here from the cooks that everything is ready, so give them a few more minutes before you go. For now, talk amongst yourselves. Also, remember that since this is a formal dinner there is arranged seating. Your place-cards will be on a table in front of the dining area."

With that, Kaiba stepped away from the podium and everyone on the stage walked off. Immediately many students swarmed Aaron and began to ry to talk to him.

"Why am I not surprised that they're all going towards him." said Jim.

"Because you know that they'll all trying to kiss up to him?" Jesse suggested.

"For the boys. The girls are probably just looking to kiss him." Jim responded.

"I can't blame then. He's a total dreamboat!" Mindy said. Jasmine sighed in agreement. "We should try to see him!"

Alexis face-palmed at her friends antics. One minute they're in love with that teacher and the next they're smitten with Aaron. Not that it was surprising. Which in it of itself was pretty sad. Asami giggled.

"Now I'm beginning to understand what you meant when you told me that your friends couldn't be more wishy-washy about love." she said.

"You two shouldn't bother. He already is taken." Seto Kaiba said. Everyone turned around in surprise. Behind them stood Kaiba.

"SETO KAIBA?!" Chazz yelled.

"Yes Princeton, it's me." Kaiba said with a smirk. It then returned to a normal smile as he said "It's been a while Zane, Atticus, Alexis, Asami. How are all of you?"

"We're well." Alexis said with a smile. "How are you doing Seto?"

"I'm fine." he replied. "I see that you've all matured into fine duelists. I hope you'll forgive Aaron for not telling any of anything but I had requested of him that it should be kept secret and he passed the message on to Cynthia. There were a few things going on that had to be kept quiet."

"We got it." Zane said. "I'm not surprised you were the one who asked him to keep everything hushed up."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"That it is very unlikely he wouldn't keep in touch with us unless someone important asked him to."

"Besides, you have to admit you've always have had something for theatrics." Atticus said with a smile. Kaiba's smile grew a little.

"It's something I'm good at." he admitted. "However, I didn't stop by just to say hello. I needed to tell Asami and Jason that they should get themselves and their decks ready."

"Wait, our decks?" Jason asked. "Why?"

Once again Kaiba smirked. "You'll find out." he said, however the tone wasn't a cruel or taunting one. He then turned to JAden and gave him a one over. His face returned to a serious expression. "I see." he muttered.

"Uh, did you say something, Mr. Kaiba sir?" Jaden asked.

Kaiba's smirk returned. "First off, don't call me Mister and don't use sir. The formality doesn't suit you Jaden." he said. "Second, yes but it doesn't matter. It's interesting to meet you in person though. I see you got my invitation."

"Yes, I did. Thanks by the way." Jaden said.

Kaiba nodded. Then he turned to Aster. "Well, it's been a while Phoenix." he said.

"It has been Kaiba. And before you ask, I'm still with Sartorius." Aster said with a smirk. KAiba nodded.

"Your choice." he said. "Well then, I suggest you all get going as the the cooks have opened the doors." he said. And indeed he was correct as the doors had opened up and streams of people were entering the dining hall.

The group thanked him for telling them and then headed towards the hall. They picked up their place-cards and saw they were all seated at table five. The group the sat down at their table. There were eighteen seats in all and therefor there were two extra seats.

"Wonder who the other two sitting with us are?" Jim mused.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough soldier." Hassleberry responded.

As if in response a girl walked up to them. She had brown hair wrapped in a braid that hung loosely over her left shoulder. She wore pink vest-like-shirt with a white crocheted top that had short sleeves that went well with her light green eyes. She wore a pink skirt that went just below the knees. She had white high heels on that gave her an extra inch of height.

"Hi! The name's Tammy Lyman! I believe this is my table." the girl, Tammy, said in a chipper tone.

"Nice to meet you." Alexis said, offering her hand in greeting to the girl, who took it. The rest of the group introduced themselves, with a few of the boys, namely Chazz, Syrus and Jesse, blushing as they did so. Atticus simply flashed one of his charming smiles and Aster gave a low whistle when he first saw her. Zane rolled his eyes at those two. Tammy sat down next to Alexis and Jesse, the fastest of the three who blushed, quickly sat next to her on her other side. Tammy giggled, Chazz glowered and Syrus simply sighed. Zane once again rolled his eyes.

Suddenly the group heard a voice say "Well, it has been quite a while." They turned around to see none other then Aaron himself standing behind them.

Note:** Whoa, this has been the longest chapter I've ever written for anything so far. But I'm happy to do it for you guys! And I'm sorry if Tammy's get-up makes no sense or is somehow offensive (I have no idea how it would be). This is a first for me, trying to get the names of certain articles of clothing and is not easy. I'm doing as best as I can. Next chapter's beginning will finish up the intros and will have not one but TWO duels. My way of rewarding your patience. So, until next time! And, ****May the cards ever be in your favor**. -AA


	4. Duels! (About time, right?)

Note:** Well, it's been three chapters but now, in the fourth chapter, we finally get to see some dueling action! Hope you're as excited as I am. All cards that are made up will be fully listed (AtK, Def, Effect, etc.) at the end of the next chapter (if I remember). By the way, Professor Jomare, the headmaster, is based very much on Albus Dumbledore in the way he interacts with his students. ****Italics means a Duel Monster Spirit is talking.**

"Aaron, it's so good to see you again!" Alexis said as she gave her old friend a hug. Aaron returned the embrace.

"I completely agree Lexi." Aaron responded. After Alexis stepped back Zane stepped forward.

"It has been far too long." he said with a smile as he extended his hand. Aaron grasped it and pumped it up and down.

"Yes it has. Seven years, I believe." Aaron responded returning the smile. He quickly repeated the gesture with both Atticus and Jason and gave a short hug to Asami. He then sat down next to Cynthia.

"How have you been?" Aster asked.

Aaron smiled. "Fine, thanks for asking. Seems like you don't hold a grudge." the elite duelist said.

Aster flicked his hair. "Why would I? You beat me fair and square. It was a great duel and the publicity actually helped my career. Maybe not as much as it would have if I won but it did further it."

"Glad to hear I was of assistance." Aaron said. He then turned to Cynthia. "Well then Cyndi, perhaps you can introduce me to everyone else?"

"I could, but it might be better to ask one of the others as they have known everyone else much longer." Cynthia replied. Aaron nodded and turned to Zane. Zane got the message and began introducing him to everyone.

After Aaron had been introduced the group began to talk amongst themselves, asking about the past year, catching up on things, those who had just met began finding out more about each other and other social stuff. While this was happening the food was served and everyone put the chat on hold as they began to eat. When the conversation resumed it revolved around Tammy.

"So Tammy, where do you live?" Asami asked, beginning the conversation.

"I live in Florida. My parents own a successful hotel buisness down there." Tammy said. "They originally wanted me to go into the business but when they saw how much I wanted to duel and saw how good I was, the allowed me to go to a Duel Academy. I graduated with the best marks and was able to get a paid-for scholarship here."

"In Florida, eh? Maybe you've seen some of Shirley's family?" Jim asked pointing to the crocodile on his back as he did so.

Tammy chuckled at Jim's humor. "I might have." she said. "Though I never saw an alligator or crocodile as domesticated as yours."

"Domesticated huh. She should see it when it's angry." Hassleberry muttered.

"What Duel Academy did you go to?" asked Zane.

"You probably have never heard of it. It was a local one. Not any less prestigious though." she added, as if trying to defend it.

Aaron seemed intrigued though. "I know of only a few Duel Academies in Florida. Can you tell me which? I would know."

Tammy decided to take that as a challenge and accepted it. "Fine. It was Duel Academy of West Palm Beach."

"The one that Chancellor Verandurf is the head of?"

"Yes!" Tammy said in surprise.

"You shouldn't sound so surprised. I am very close to Kaiba and I do know a lot about the Duel Academy System." Aaron said. Tammy nodded.

"I forgot about that." she said.

Suddenly Professor Jomare's voice was heard over all the commotion of people talking to each other.

"Ahem. Well then, I hope I'm not interrupting anything important but I though that you students might enjoy a good duel or two to go along with the food." As he said that a mechanical whirring was heard and in the middle of the room, which was clear of tables as it was usually reserved for use as a dance floor, a dueling platform appeared from the floor.

Immediately the room burst into excited cheers. Jaden smiled.

"Wow, this guy knows what I like!" he said.

"Yeah and not only what you like Sarge but it seems like he knows what everyone else likes as well." Hassleberry said.

"The man is good." Aaron spoke up. Everyone turned to him. "He knows how to be a good teacher and be strict but also knows how to relate to the students. Kaiba knew that those traits were the exact ones necessary for a good headmaster and that's why he hired him." He then turned to Asami and Jason. "I hope you two are ready by the way. After all there are over a one and a half thousand pairs of eyes watching you. Or there will be in a minute."

"What are you talking about?" Jason and Asami asked. As if in answer to their question Professor Jomare's voice was heard again.

"Will Jason Yuki and Tyler Hemlington please ready their decks because it's, as you kids love to say, time for you two to throw down!" Immediately the room went up in cheers as Tyler stood up. Jason however needed someone to push him into action as he was caught off guard. Luckily Jaden wasn't and he quickly nudged his cousin into action.

"Also, will Asami Elric and Yancy Greens please get ready as you two will be dueling right afterwards." Professor Jomare said. Asami quickly put her duel-disk on and, at a different table, Yancy put on hers. The crowd's cheers restarted and continued for a minute. Then they settled down as Jason and Tyler took the stage.

"Nice to meet you. Let's have a great duel." Tyler said with a grin as he slotted in his deck.

"Nice to meet you as well. And yes. Let's give the crowd a duel to remember." Jason responded, slotting his deck into his duel-disk as well.

"Now, Let's Duel!" the two shouted.

Jason: 4000 LP

Tyler: 4000 LP

"I'll start us off." Tyler said. "First, I activate the spell, Animal Callings." A spell card appeared that showed a wolf howling up to the moon. "Thanks to this spell, anytime a Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged-Beast type monster is summoned, I can draw a card. And now I think I'll use it's effect by summoning 'Silver Fang'!" A silver wolf appeared on Tyler's field.

ATK: 1200/DEF: 800

Tyler then drew a card. "Now I'll play Polymerization to fuse 'Silver Fang' with the 'Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts' in my hand to summon 'Palladium Gazelle King of Creatures'!" Silver Fang and Gazelle disappeared. Replacing them was a monster that looked like Gazelle but had silvery fur and a white mane while his claws were platinum grey instead of black.

"And his ability gives him a 300 point boost to both his ATK and DEF for each Beast type monster on the field including himself."

ATK: 2000-2300/DEF: 1800-2100

"And now I get another card." Tyler then drew another card. "And I think that will end my turn."

"Wait, no Spells or Traps?" Syrus said in surprise.

"Maybe he doesn't have any." Jim suggested.

"Or maybe the guy isn't that good." Chazz scoffed.

"Maybe, but Jason would be smart to play it safe anyway." Axl said.

"I wouldn't worry." Jaden said. "If my couz's as good as I remember then there's no reason to be worked up."

"Do we sound worked up?" Chazz asked which won him a jab from Aster.

"My turn." Jason said. "And I'll start by summoning a friend of mine. 'Tennessee 'Kid' Cooper'!" A fairly tall raccoon wearing a top hat, an ascot that dangled over his neck, a golden badge on the right side of his long sleeved shirt that was worn under his vest, and a black mask over his eyes; a golden cane with a revolver strapped to the bottom was held in his right hand/paw.

ATK:1600/DEF:1500

"Who is that guy?!" Aster asked. Jaden smiled.

"He's Tennessee Cooper, one of the signature monsters from the Cooper clan." Jaden said.

"Coopers?" Jesse said in a tone that begged an explanation. One that was forthcoming.

"Yeah. The Coopers are a series of cards that are based off of Jason's own design. You see," Jaden began. "Jason was injured at a tournament that Pegasus hosted. Even though Pegasus had nothing to do with how the injury came about, he felt bad that it happened at one of his tournaments and asked if there was anyway to repay Jason. After a nice amount of convincing, Jason finally agreed to let Pegasus 'reimburse' him and asked him to make the Cooper series. No one else owns Cooper cards as they were made exclusively for Jason."

"What would happen if he lost some cards?" Syrus asked.

"Then he would simply call Pegasus who would instruct Industrial Illusions to make a replacement. Though it never has happened yet." Asami answered. When Jaden gave her an odd look she said, in a defensive tone "What? Jason told me, Aaron, and Cynthia."

Jaden laughed. "I never accused you of anything Asami. Besides, I have no idea what I could even accuse you of." Jaden was finding that he liked this girl and was glad Jason had her as a friend. That wouldn't stop him from messing with her though. In fact, it made her an even larger target.

_"Nice to be out Jason!"_ Tennessee said._  
_

"Next I'll activate Tribute to the Doomed. By discarding a card I can destroy a monster on the field. So you'd better alert the next in line to the throne 'cause your Gazelle can't rule from the grave." After Jason finished speaking two mummified hands appeared beneath Gazelle and dragged him into a purple portal.

"Actually, I will inform his successor." Tyler said with a smirk. "Because now that you destroyed a Beast-type monster I can special summon 'Yellow Baboon, Archer of the Forrest' so long as I banish two Beast type monsters from my grave. So sorry 'Silver Fang' and 'Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts' but I'm going to have to remove you guys."

As he did that Yellow Baboon appeared and, like his name suggested, he held a wicked bow, which he held like a crossbow, in his hand.

ATK: 2600/ DEF: 1800

"And of course, since he's a beast as well I get another card." A new card was drawn and added into Tyler's hand replacing the monster he had just summoned.

"So that's why he didn't play a Spell or Trap. He didn't need any." Aaron said.

_"Big deal. He won't stop us. Jason, time to have some fun!" _Tennessee said.

"Oh yes, Tennessee. And with this, the Spell Card Rail Walk!" A spell card appeared on the field which depicted Tennessee walking on a railroad track.

"When this card is played Tennessee is allowed to attack my opponent directly. And I think Tennessee will take the opportunity to do so." Jason said. Tennessee grinned like a fool as a rail appeared that headed straight towards Tyler.

_"Oh, you'd better believe I will!"_ the raccoon said as he jumped onto the rail and ran straight at Tyler. He swung his cane and the tip caught Tyler in the ribs. Tyler sank to the ground as his life points went down.

Tyler: 4000- 2400

"And next, I think I'll activate his effect. Show him." Jason commanded.

_"With pleasure."_ Tennessee said. He raised his cane and fired the revolver at the end of it. A bullet rushed out and struck a card in Tyler's hand. Tyler watched as his 'Giant Rat' was sent to the grave.

"You see, once per turn I can have Tennessee destroy one random card in your hand. Tennessee is the the best shot in the Old West for a reason." Jason explained.

_"And that would be because of my Crackshot technique!"_ The raccoon said.

"I'll place a card face down and end my turn." Jason said.

"And I'll begin my mine." Tyler said. "First, I'll summon 'Berserk Gorilla' in attack mode." The monster appeared on Tyler's field.

ATK:2000/DEF:1000

"And thanks to the effect of Animal Callings I get another card." Tyler then drew again bringing his hand to a total of five. "Then I'll have my gorilla attack your raccoon." The gorilla charged at Tennessee who was shattered into pixilated shards.

Jason: 4000-3600

"Hold the phone!" Jason said. "I play my trap!" His first card popped up. "It's know as calling card and I can activate when a monster of mine is destroyed. Now I can summon a Cooper monster from my deck that's level four or lower. And I choose my icon monster, 'Sly Cooper'!"

Another Raccoon appeared. This one wore a blue shirt with a red pouch hanging over the leg and blue shoes were on his feet. A blue cap that matched the one Jason wore was on his head.

_"Lemme guess, Tennessee got blasted again?" _He asked Jason. Jason nodded. _"And it would appear I'm next." _he said as he saw how many monsters were on the field.

"Why do you think you're in defense?" asked Jason.

_"True." S_ly said.

ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200

"Now my Yellow Baboon will take out your new monster." Tyler said as Yellow Baboon loaded an arrow into the bow he held. He then shot Sly causing him to be blasted into pixels.

"I'll place a card face down and end my turn." Tyler said.

"Then it's my turn." Jason said. He drew another card and smiled. "I'll start by playing Card of Demise. Now I can draw until I have five cards in my hand, at the cost of destroying my hand by my fifth standby phase after Card of Demise's activation. Then I'll use Card of Adversity. Now since I have no monsters and you have a Special Summoned one, I can draw two cards to have a total of six. Next I'll play Monster Reborn." he said. Instantly, Sly returned to the field.

"I knew he had a plan to bring back Sly." Jaden said. "It wouldn't be like my cousin to play a Cooper and leave him."

"Now I'll activate Sly's effect." Jason said. Sly grinned.

_"About time! My paws have been itching to grab something!" _Sly said. He quickly ran up to Tyler's hand and grabbed a card from it. He then threw it towards Jason who caught it in his hand.

"What just happened?!" Tyler asked with an incredulous look on his face.

"It's Sly's ability. Once per turn I can take a random card from your hand and add it to mine. You'll get it back in a moment though, 'cause I'm using it to play Monster Reincarnation! Now by discarding this Rush Recklessly that you were kind enough to let me take, I can summon Tennessee!"

A bright light appeared on Jason's field and Tennessee stepped out of it.

_"Thanks Jason. It was getting cold down there." _Tennessee said.

"Anytime I can, Tennessee." Jason responded. "How about another Crackshot Technique?"

_"You know it!" _Tennessee said as he shot a card in Tyler's hand once more. 'Green Baboon Defender of the Forrest' was destroyed sent to the Grave.

"That was a great! Now Jason can attack Tyler's monsters and he won't be able to special summon that Baboon." Atticus said.

"That maybe true, but Tyler still has a facedown to worry about." Aster pointed out.

"I'm sure he'll get around it." Syrus said.

"Now, I'll summon another friend of mine. Meet 'Rioichi Cooper'!" said Jason.

A new Cooper appeared on Jason's field. He wore a blue hooded cloak the sleeves of which were white and he also wore matching blue pants. His hood covered his face as he began to meditate and float above the ground.

ATK: 1700/DEF:1200

"Rioichi?" Syrus asked.

"Yep. He's one of the older members of the Cooper clan." Jaden explained.

_"Hey Rioichi! Nice for you to join the party!" _Tennessee said. _"Ready to kick tail?"_

_"Hold on, my descendent. Jason isn't quite ready yet to attack. He has a plan." _The elder raccoon's voice held a sage-like tone. _"One that involves one of your many different attires, Sly." _Rioichi said to Sly.

_"Thought so." _Sly said. He turned to Jaden and asked. _"Which one of my get-ups will it be this time?"_

"This one." Jason replied, holding a card up. It was a Spell Card that depicted a jailbird costume.

_"It had to be Jailbird Costume." _Sly said in annoyed tone as he suddenly was clothed in the jailbird costume and his blue cap turned into a black and white prison one. A ball and chain appeared on to his leg.

"Wait, he hasn't gained any attack or defense points!" Tyler said.

"He doesn't need to gain any points, as Jailbird Costume's ability makes up for it. " Jason said. Sly picked up the ball and chain and threw it at Yellow Baboon. Baboon was hit and sank down to his knee.

ATK: 2600- 1100

"What just happened?!" Tyler shouted.

"Jailbird happened!" Jaden said as he put his fist in the air.

"As my cousin just said, Jailbird happened. You see, Jailbird Costume has two abilities. One of which is to have a monster on your side of the field lose attack points equal to the attack points of the monster that Jailbird Costume is equipped to." Jason explained. "Unfortunately if I use this effect the monster that Jailbird Costume is equipped to can't attack. However," Jason smirked as he continued. "If the costume disappears then so does this little catch. And it's disappearing, into my Mystical Space Typhoon!" Jason said with a flourish. The Jailbird Costume card was sucked into the vortex and Sly returned to normal.

_"Thanks Jason." _The raccoon said.

"Um, not to be a kill joy, but how does that help? There is only one monster that Jason can destroy and I would use Rioichi since he has the highest attack." Syrus pointed out.

"Good question, but I'm sure Jason knows what he's doing." Cynthia said. "As Jaden has been telling you, Jason is a very capable duelist. Myself, Asami, and Aaron could testify that point."

"And now, I'm going to finish this due!" Jason said.

"How? You only have one card left." Tyler pointed out.

"And that one card is just enough. I activate the effect of 'Spell Charmer'!" Jason said revealing the last card in his hand.

"He's won!" Aaron said. Everyone, minus Cynthia, Atticus, Zane and Aster, turned and gave him looks of misunderstanding. "You'll see. If he plays this right then he's won the duel."

"By discarding Spell charmer to the Grave I can grab a spell that is in there as well and add it to my hand." Jason said as he discarded his 'Spell Charmer' and looked through his Grave. "And I'll be playing it." he said as he chose the card. "Jailbird Costume!" he shouted as the card was re-equipped to Sly.

_"Not again." _Sly muttered. Tennessee laughed.

_"I'm sure Carmelita would love to see you in that!" _Tennessee said with a laugh.

_"I'm afraid you're right. Too bad she won't ever get me in one herself." _Sly said.

_"Can we please focus on the battle?" _Rioichi asked.

_"Yes." _the other two Coopers said.

"Now I'll activate the effect a second time! Usually it can only be activated once per turn but since it was destroyed I can activate the effect again." Sly threw the ball and this time it smashed into the Gorilla forcing him to a knee.

ATK: 2000- 500

"And now I'll activate Spell Charmer's second effect. When it's in the Grave I can remove it from play with a Spell to bring another Spell to my hand. I'll remove both 'Spell Charmer' and Monster Reborn to bring back a certain Spell Card. Can you guess?" Jason said as he pulled the card from his grave. "Mystical Space Typhoon!" And once again the equip spell was destroyed. "Now it looks like it's game!" Jason said. "Let's start the final strike. Rioichi, attack!"

Rioichi nodded and ran towards the now kneeling 'Berserk Gorilla', pulling his fist back as he readied a punch.

"Hold it! I play my Trap, Sakuretsu Armor! Now your Rioichi is going to bite the dust!" Tyler said as some armor appeared on Berserk Gorilla.

"It won't stop him." Aaron said. Jaden looked at him.

"How'd you know?" Jaden asked.

"I was at the academy with him. I've seen his deck." Aaron answered simply.

"Can you stop being so mysterious?!" Chazz asked, annoyed that he had no idea what was going on.

"No." Aaron answered simply causing Chazz to fall down anime style and Cynthia to chuckle.

"Rioichi, show him what you can do." Jason said. Rioichi nodded and waved his hand. The armor instantly vanished.

Tyler finally had it. "What the heck?! What happened now?!" he wailed.

Jason smirked. "Rioichi effect activated. He's unaffected by Trap Cards." Jason said.

Rioichi's punch went through and 'Berserk Gorilla' was destroyed. Tyler held up his arm and blocked his face from the pixilated shards.

Tyler: 2400- 1200

"Next, I think I'll have Tennessee take out your Baboon."

Tennessee grinned. _"Aim, Ready, and... FIRE!" _the raccoon said as he shot Yellow Baboon. The bullet pierced through the monster, destroying it, and continued going till it hit Tyler.

Tyler: 1200- 700

"And I'll let Sly end this duel." Jason finished. Sly leapt forward and landed with a kick to Tyler's chest.

Tyler: 700- 0

*Jason Wins*

The holographic images faded and the duelists turned their duel-disks off. The two duelists then walked to up each other and shook hands.

"Nice duel. Love your moves." Tyler said.

"You were great as well. It's not often one sees a Beast type duelist. You duel well." Jason responded.

"Let's give a hand to our great duelists!" Professor Jomare said. The crowd readily honored the request and a thunderous applaud was heard. After a moment it died down and Professor Jomare spoke again. "Now then, Asami Elric and Yancy Greens please come to the stage."

The two girls got up and walked towards the stage. Each activated their duel-disk as soon as they got on.

"Best of luck." Asami said.

"You too." Yancy replied.

"Let's duel!"

Asami: 4000 LP

Yancy: 4000 LP

"I'll start the duel!" Asami said as she drew a card. "First I'll play 'Gearfried the Iron Knight' in attack mode!" The armored warrior appeared, ready to battle.

ATK:1800/DEF:1600

"Next I'll place two face downs. That will be all."

"Fine, now it's my turn!" Yancy said as she drew. "I'll start by playing 'Botanical Lion', in attack mode!" A lion made of plants with a mane of rose petals appeared on the field. It let out a large roar.

ATK:1600 DEF:2000

"Next my lion's ability activates. For every Plant-type monster I control it gains 300 attack points." The lion was surrounded by a red aura as its attack points went up.

ATK:1900

"Now, attack!" Yancy said. The lion roared and charged forward, ready to destroy the opposing warrior.

"Hold it! I activate Scrap Iron Scarecrow!" Asami said, revealing one of her face downs. "Now, I can negate the attack and, instead of losing my scarecrow, I get to set it again." The scarecrow appeared and absorbed the force of the lion's attack.

"Oh well. I'll play a face down and end my turn." Yancy said as a face down appeared on her side of the field.

"My draw!" Asami said. First I'll play a face down and next I'll activate the second card I played last turn. It's called Half Straight and what it does is it allows me to halve the attack of one of my monsters." Gearfried was surrounded by a white light as his attack was halved.

ATK:900

"Uh guys, why would she do that?" asked Syrus.

"Because of Half Straight's second effect." Zane said.

"See, the monster whose attack was halved because of its ability can now attack its opponent directly." Atticus explained.

"Atticus is right. Now go Gearfied, attack Yancy directly!" Asami said. Gearfried nodded and leapt forward, coming down with a slash. Yancy flinched as she was hit.

Yancy: 4000- 3100

"Unfortunately Gearfried's attack won't return to normal till my next standy-by phase. I can deal with it though." Asami said as she ended her turn.

"We'll see. My turn now!" Yancy said. "First I'll sacrifice my 'Botanical Lion' to play 'Fairy King Truesdale' in Defense Mode!" A monarch-like elf appeared on the field, kneeling while holding a staff in front of himself.

ATK:2200 DEF:1500

"Relative of yours?" Aster asked Zane causing Jim to chuckle and Axl to smile. Zane sighed and rolled his eyes.

"And his ability states that when he's in defense mode all plant type monsters I control gain 500 attack and defense points."

ATK:2700 DEF:2000

"Next I'll play Call of the Haunted to bring back my lion." Yancy said as she activated her face-down. Botanical Lion appeared on her field. "And don't forget his ability in addition to 'Fairy King Truesdale's!" Botanical Lion was surrounded by purple light as its attack and defense went up.

ATK:2700 DEF:2500

"Next I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to get rid of your trap." The typhoon came and sucked up Asami's face down. "Now 'Botanical Lion', attack Gearfried!" The lion snarled and leapt forward pouncing on Gearfried and destroying him.

Asami: 4000- 2300

"And I'll end by placing a card face down." A card appeared on Yancy's side of the field.

"My draw!" Asami said. "First I activate Pot of Greed to let me draw two cards. Then I activate my face down, Call of the Haunted!" Gearfried reappeared on her field, ready to go. "Then I activate Release Restraint!" A spell card showing a glowing Gearfried appeared.

"Here we go." Jason said.

"Now by tributing 'Gearfried the Iron Knight' I can summon 'Gearfried the Swordmaster'!" Asami said as Gearfried's armor was surrounded by electricity. It then slid off to reveal a muscular man holding a katana.

ATK:2600 DEF:2200

"Nice card. Too bad it doesn't have enough to take down my lion." said Yancy.

"He will in a moment though." Asami said with a smirk. "Not that he'll need it."

"What do you mean?" asked Yancy.

"Watch. I play Divine Sword-Phoenix Blade!" Asmai said. A sword with a golden hilt appeared before Gearfried and the warrior grabbed it. "Now my Gearfried gains 300 attack points."

ATK:2600-2900

"But that's not all. Now Gearfried's effect activates. Whenever an equip card is equipped to him Gearfried destroys one of your monsters!" Asami said. Yancy gasped as Gearfried sent a slash of energy at her 'Fairy King Truesdale'. The monster was destroyed in a blast of pixels.

"Yeah! Now all she has to deal with is the lion." Syrus said.

"Not only that but now that 'Fairy King Truesdale' is gone 'Botanical Lion' loses 500 attack." Jesse added.

"You're forgetting another 300 since she only has one plant-type monster now." Aaron added.

ATK:2700-1900

"And now I'll activate Axe of Despair and equip it on to Gearfried and he gains 1000 attack." Asami added. The axe appeared and Gearfried put away his katana and grabbed it.

ATK:2900-3900

"And of course since another equip card was attached to Gearfried another one of Yancy's monsters are destroyed." Axl said.

"Yep, and there's only one left, that lion." Jim said.

"Gearfried, take out 'Botanical Lion'!" Asami said. Gearfried nodded and slashed down, sending another energy wave towards Yancy's side of the field. 'Botanical Lion' was destroyed.

"And now I'll get rid of your face down with Mystical Space Typhoon." Asami said as the typhoon ripped through Yancy's face down.

"And now Yancy's field is clear." Zane said.

"Leaving her open for Asami to win!" Alexis said.

"Gearfried let's finish this. Attack Yancy!" Asami said. Gearfried jumped up while raising the axe and sword above his head. He then brought them down in a slashing motion causing Yancy to fall to a knee.

Yancy: 3100- 0

The holograms faded and each duelist returned her duel-disk to normal. They then walked towards to each other and shook hands.

"Nice duel." Asami said.

"Yeah." Yancy agreed. "You use your warriors very well."

"Same for you and your plants." Asami responded.

"Thank you duelists for another amazing duel!" Professor Jomare said over the mic. "And congratulations to Jason and Asami on their fine victories." As he said that the room filled with the sound of applause. The greatest came from the table where Jaden and the others were sitting.

"Great duel, Asami!" Alexis told her friend.

"It was really amazing." Tammy said.

"Thanks." Asami said as she sat back down.

"Ahem." Everyone quieted down as they heard Kaiba clear his throat. "I'll repeat what Professor Jomare said. Congratulations to Jason and Asami. Tyler and Yancy did well as well." At that another applause was heard. "Now then," Kaiba continued when things had settled down. "I suggest we all finish soon as classes start tomorrow. I expect all of you to be there on time. I'll be leaving in a week so I'll be here if anyone has any questions throughout the next week."

Everyone began to clean up and get ready to go to their dorms. They were in for a busy and exciting year and they'd want to get an early start. Most of the students anyway.

**So we've finally have had some duels. Hooray! I have an important announcement. Because of schoolwork and the fact that writing duels isn't easy, chapter updates will be less frequent. That doesn't mean I'm giving up. I have a lot planned and I want the story to be the best it can be. That will mean that it may take a while till updates come out but it will be worth it. I hope you all stay on board with me. May the cards ever be in your favor. -AA/Ajani's Apprentice**

**P.S If you want to know about the Coopers, head over to Supreme King Jaden to find out. Or ask SuperNeos2 for them. **


End file.
